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Monday, August 1, 2011

Book Review and Giveaway: Girls in White Dresses

By Melissa Amster

**Giveaway is now closed**

What happens when you marry "Sex and the City" to "Reality Bites?" The result is Jennifer Close's debut novel, "Girls in White Dresses."

Isabella, Mary and Lauren become friends in college. After they graduate, they are faced with the complexities of the real world, which include work, dating, city living and keeping up with their friends who seem to get married in droves. They question themselves and their choices when it comes to relationships, careers and where to live, hoping that they ultimately have made the right choice.

I was extremely impressed with this novel. It reached out and grabbed me instantly and didn't let go until the last page. I am still thinking about it now. The women are very candid and honest about their feelings and the world around them. There are some humorous moments, but they are more subtle. (I did laugh out loud quite a few times though.) The whole story is told with a tongue-in-cheek attitude and that's what made it so entertaining. I could relate to some things that were said and other parts reminded me of people I know. The dialogue was realistic and Ms. Close didn't strive for perfection for any of her characters. She just let the story flow naturally to see where things would end up. I even liked how she gave some secondary characters a chapter of their own. Those were entertaining and I wished she had even elaborated on those characters and their thoughts more throughout the book. I loved her use of description that allowed me to experience a freezing winter's day while in the middle of a heat wave in real life. I could also relate to each of the women in one way or another.

The only criticisms I have are over time and character descriptions. The time in this novel seemed to speed by, aging the characters a lot from when they started off in the story. I felt like some things got skipped over and other things happened too close in time. However, that is how life feels sometimes, so maybe she got it right by using this method. And while Ms. Close had great use of description when it came to places and things. I wish she had used this description for people, as I had a hard time visualizing most of her characters. I'd like even some clue, like a hair color. I felt like they had generic looks the whole time and I couldn't differentiate one character from the next physically. If you have a good imagination and like to make up images of a character in your head without much to go on, then you will definitely enjoy this aspect of the novel. I like my character descriptions spoon-fed to me though.

Overall, Ms. Close's debut novel was a delight to read and an easy page turner. I am a book multitasker, but I put all books aside just so I could continue reading this one until I finished it. It really says a lot about society these days and the way people view singlehood and relationships, depending on which side of the fence they are on at the time. There are a lot of truths that resonated with me. I hope you will enjoy this novel as much as I did. Thanks to Molly Erman from Random House (who also sent me the ARC for review), you have that opportunity! She's giving away TEN copies to some lucky readers in the US and Canada!

For more information on the book, visit the page for it at Random House. You can also "like" it on Facebook and follow Jennifer Close on Twitter.

How to win "Girls in White Dresses": There is a part of the book where the women go to a bridal shower of another friend. The theme is "My Favorite Things" and each person is asked to give the bride-to-be a gift of their own favorite thing. Please tell us: If you were to give someone a gift that was your favorite thing, what would you give them?Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you.

I have to agree my favorite 'thing' is my Nook color. I love it for reading and having two small kids, I love to hand it to them to play games when we are out and about and they begin to get restless ;)

This book sounds great!Well, needless to say my favorite things are books. I would either give the new bride to be a beautifully bound leather addition of a book that reminded me of them (this would depend on the person) or a gift card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble.candc320@gmail.com

My gift for a friend at her bridal shower will always be tailored to the specific friend but I always try to give a pretty basket filled with special items just for the bride-to-be. Most often these are all book-related items including a warm, pretty throw for those chilly nights, an e-reader if she likes them, a bookstore gift card, a couple of books by a few of her favorite authors, a collection of short stories by Flannery O'Connor or Raymond Carver or another great short story author, a journal and pretty pen, a collection of book marks and book plates etc. You get the idea and it's all chosen for the particular woman.

I was reading a recommendation for Girls in White Dresses before I stpped by here this morning so I was excited when I saw this post & giveaway! Thank you!

Some things that save me when I need to relieve stress are some guilty pleasure DVDs, so I think my own DVD Survival Kit would be my favorite thing! The Complete Series of Golden Girls along with the Oprah 20th Anniversary DVD special perhaps? Haha.nina565(at)aol(dot)com

My gift as a favorite thing would a book...I love the idea of the Kindle and Nook and ipad...although I don't own any of those yet...so my deeply passionate reading self would opt for the sensuousness of a real book...sacto1954@yahoo.com

My "favorite thing" would be a package containing a gift certificate to buy books, another one for Starbucks, and another one for a pedicure, so whilst getting pampered she could have a coffee and read a book! And maybe I would buy myself the same thing so I could join her!

Surprisingly, my closest friends aren't into reading the way I am, so a kindle, or nook (or any other electronic reader) wouldn't be a great gift for them, even though it's one of my favorite things. So next on the list (if I could afford it) would be two tickets to somewhere warm. One for me, and one for her so we could have a "last hurrah" before she gets married, because I LOVE to travel!

One of my favorite times when I got married was taking our stack of gift cards and filling a basket with things we couldn't otherwise buy. Because of that experience I would give her a gift card for wherever she was registered.

One of my favorite things is 'books', obviously ;o) But for a wedding shower gift, my variation of this is cookbooks - they're always fun to flip through, and any new bride can always use some extra kitchen help :o)

I would have to say cash. It's not my favorite thing, but the couple could use it to go on a nice vacation before the kids arrive or even help pay off the wedding/honeymoon/ring or they can get their favorite thing together.tiredwkids at live dot com

If the bride was a reader, then a book I think she'd love or one that has a history with us would be a great start to a gift. I also like to scrapbook, and if it was a bride who could be into something like that, I think it'd be a great gift as well. The scrapbook could be wedding and honeymoon centred and would be a great memento for the bride.

I cannot wait to read this book! I have been waiting for it since Oprah's early tease this past winter. I have so many favorite things, but I doubt they are everybody else's favs. In this economy, I believe it's smart to go sensible, so I give gift cards! YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG! Everyone LOVES a Visa giftcard.

It might not work for everyone, but my favorite thing is the blanket I have slept with every night my whole entire life. That probably sounds corny and childish, but it brings such a sense of comfort and good memories, and it has the benefit of going over my eyes when I'm not quite ready for the morning light! So I would give someone the gift of a blanket.

For bridal shower gifts, I like to give a collection of tested favorite recipes from my kitchen or a favorite cookbook (a Barefoot Contessa or The Pioneer Woman Cooks). I also give sil-pats, one of the most useful kitchen items I have!

If I had to choose 1 thing it would definitely be a gift cert to sephora. A few other gifts would be a gift cert to Barnes and Nobles or Itunes, for her to buy whichever book(s) she is currently interested in.

I'd give them a pair of running shoes and a workout outfit that's functional, but makes them feel adorably sexy at the same time. After losing close to 30# when I picked up half-marathoning a few years ago (after never running a day in my life beyond the required gym tests), I now know the power of a good jog when a person feels confident doing it.

The best wedding gift I ever gave was to my best friend I gave her a special pottery plate painted with their names and the date of their wedding with decorations on it in their wedding colors. It turned out to be a very special and treasured gift even now, over 20 years later!

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